So here’s the rapid-fire breakdown of the Rangers’ 4-1 win over the Flyers in Tuesday night’s Game 3 at Philadelphia’s Wells Fargo Center to take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series:

1. The Rangers blocked 28 shots, proving, to some extent, that John Tortorella’s imprint on the franchise is still there, at least in some form.

2. Henrik Lundqvist is a better goalie than Ray Emery. In Friday’s Game 4, Lundqvist will likely get the chance to prove he’s superior to Steve Mason.

3. Carcillo continues to have a positive impact on the Rangers’ lineup when he plays (see previous blog post).

4. As important as Dan Girardi’s third goal for the Rangers was (again, I mentioned a couple of times here and on Twitter that it could turn out to be the most important goal of the series for the Rangers), the Rangers’ penalty kill clinched the game, killing off back-to-back penalties after the Carl Hagelin/Carcillo vs. Jakub Voracek roughing penalties at 11:37 of the second period and Derek Dorsett’s charging (or, as Dorsett screamed at the ref, ‘Charging????’) penalty at 16:02 of the second period. The Flyers totaled four shots on five scoreless power-play opportunities.
Said Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, “Well they were definitely two important penalty killings. What we got there was tonight our goaltender was the better of the two goaltenders and we got some big blocked shots at the right time from our penalty killing units. That’s what you need to be successful. They came at us, they had a good push but we were able to respond in the right way.”

5. The Flyers just play dumb hockey at time. There’s a fine line between being physically engaged and a hard team to play against and just putting yourself in a hole with bad penalties. The Flyers are clearly on the wrong side off the line after Game 3.

6. Interesting comment by Rangers TV analyst Joe Micheletti after Mason replaced Emery with 7:15 to play in the third period and the Rangers leading 4-1. Micheletti suggested the Rangers don’t give Mason to get a feel for the puck, meaning don’t shoot at him. Mason faced three shots.

7. It’s tough to gauge exactly how good a playoff team the Rangers are right now because they’re simply playing smarter hockey than the Flyers, even considering Benoit Pouliot’s two brain-dead first-period penalties to negate power-plays. Pouliot went on to play 13:37 but his line with Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello had a rare off night in Game 3. Brassard missed a shot from the right faceoff circle in the first period by approximately an area code.

8. Marty St. Louis, two goals three assists in three playoff games for the Rangers. Ryan Callahan scoreless and a minus-2 as the Lightning were swept in four games by the Canadiens. Just saying. Of course, Rangers will surrender a second, first-round pick (right now a conditional second-round pick) if the Rangers reach the conference final, which St. Louis’ play right now could help them accomplish. But that’s jumping ahead…
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As I wrote in my game story, it’s a good sign that this Game 3 victory was a lesson learned after their 4-2 loss in Game 2, when they blew the two-goal lead the Rangers also raced off to in Game 3.

“Our emotion and our desperation, game two we didn’t show much of that,” Girardi said. “We knew coming in this building was going to be loud, it’s a great atmosphere. We just played a lot harder than we did in game two and that shows through desperation.”

That all said, and with the knowledge that Game 4 will likely be even more chippy than Game 3 (which was chippier than Game 2, etc.), the Rangers know they can’t give up five power plays to the Flyers.

“We’re playing with fire a little bit, so we probably have to be a little bit more disciplined,” Lundqvist said. “At the same time, you need to play on the edge. You need to be right there. It’s a fine line, but playing a team that has a pretty good power play, you have to be careful. The PK stepped up big time tonight and saved us.”

Doing the math, Lundqvist made 31 saves, the Rangers blocked 28 shots and the Flyers also had 20 missed shots (a total of 80 pucks directed toward the Rangers’ crease), so the Rangers need to work on limiting the Flyers’ chances.

Or, get in even more shooting lanes than they did in Game 3.

“Well it’s a big part in the playoffs,” Lundqvist said of the blocked shots. “You need to be strong in the middle, and they have some D’s that like to shoot the puck so we need to pay the price, and tonight we did. It was part of our defense tonight. That’s why we played so well. I think we got involved all over the ice, and defensively we blocked shots and played really physical. We did a lot of good things.”

“That’s huge, obviously, when guys pay the price like that,” Lundqvist added. “It’s tough mentally for the other team when you try to get going and guys are just throwing themselves in front of the puck and stop it. It’s a big part of the game right now to pay the price like that. I think it brings a lot of energy to the group when you see a big block like that because every play matters right now. Every play, even though it’s a 3-1 game. If they score it can change everything. So we talked about going into the third, every little thing matters – every shift, every decision. It’s great to see guys step up like that.”

Back to Pouliot, Vigneault was not necessarily in a forgiving mood after the game, even if he didn’t bench Pouliot.

“No, he needs to rein it in a little bit,” Vigneault said. “Both those penalties were definitely penalties and both of them were on the power play so he needs to do a better job next game.”

The Rangers are not practicing today and will be back on the ice Thursday at Madison Square Garden.

Lastly, from the Rangers:

- The Blueshirts have won six of the last seven Game 3s they have played in a playoff series, dating back to the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals in 2011 against the Washington Capitals. New York has won 11 of the last 14 Game 3s it has played when the series was tied 1-1 entering the contest. The Rangers have won four of the last five playoff series in which they’ve taken a 2-1 series lead after winning Game 3 on the road.

- New York was credited with 39 hits in the game, as eight different skaters delivered at least three hits. Derek Dorsett, Brian Boyle, and Mats Zuccarello tied for the game-high with five hits apiece.

- The Rangers blocked 28 shots in the contest, as 15 different skaters were credited with at least one, and seven different Blueshirts blocked at least two. Dan Girardi led all skaters with five blocked shots in the game.

- Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves to improve to 2-1 in this year’s playoffs and record his 32nd career postseason win. The Rangers’ all-time wins leader has also posted a 1.68 GAA and a .930 save percentage in the first three playoff contests this year. Lundqvist is 6-1 with a 1.14 GAA, a .963 SV%, and two shutouts in the last seven Game 3s he has played in a playoff series, dating back to Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Apr. 17, 2011 vs. Washington.

- Martin St. Louis registered the game-winning goal, tallied an assist, and recorded two shots on goal in 17:26 of ice time. St. Louis extended his personal playoff point streak against the Flyers to six games (two goals, seven assists) over the span, and has tallied 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) in his last 13 playoff games. The Rangers forward leads the team in points (five), is tied for first in goals (two), and tied for second in assists (three) in the playoffs.

- Dan Girardi tallied his first goal of the playoffs, registered the primary assist on Martin St. Louis’ goal, led all skaters with five blocked shots, and was credited with three hits in 22:42 of ice time. The Rangers defenseman has tallied a point in three consecutive road playoff games (two goals, two assists over the stretch), dating back to Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 19, 2013 at Boston, and has recorded 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in his last 14 playoff games on the road. The contest was Girardi’s second career multi-point game in the playoffs, and his first since Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals on May 14, 2012 vs. New Jersey. Girardi played in his 67th career playoff game tonight, passing Murray Murdoch and moving into sole possession of 11th place on the Rangers’ all-time playoff games played list. The Rangers defenseman is tied for the team lead in blocked shots (nine), and leads all defensemen on the team in goals (one) and points (two) in the playoffs.

- Rick Nash recorded two assists, posted a plus-two rating, was credited with three blocked shots, and tied for the game-high with five shots on goal in 17:08 of ice time. The Rangers forward posted his second career multi-point game during the playoffs – his first as a Ranger – and extended his assist/point streak to three games (four assists over the span). Nash’s three-game assist streak is a playoff career-high, while his three-game point streak ties a career-high, which he established last season between Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on May 13, 2013 at Washington and Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on May 19, 2013 at Boston. Nash leads the team in assists (four) and shots on goal (18), and is tied for second on the team in points (four) in the playoffs.

- Derek Stepan tallied the game’s first goal, posted a plus-two rating and recorded two shots on goal in 17:50 of ice time. Stepan extended his playoff point streak to three games (two goals, one assist over the span). The Rangers forward has recorded six points (four goals, two assists) in his last eight playoff games. Stepan is tied for the team lead in goals (two) and ranks fourth on the team in points (three) in the playoffs.

- Daniel Carcillo tallied a goal, posted a plus-two rating, recorded two shots on goal and was credited with two hits in 8:57 of ice time in his Rangers playoff debut. The Blueshirts forward has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last 10 playoff games, including two points (one goal, one assist) in his last three playoff contests.

- Brad Richards recorded the primary assist on Dan Girardi’s goal, recorded three shots on goal, was credited with two hits, and won eight of 13 faceoffs (62%) in 14:47 of ice time. The Rangers forward is tied for second on the team in assists (three) and points (four) in the playoffs

- Carl Hagelin tallied an assist, was credited with three hits, and blocked two shots in 16:16 of ice time. The Rangers forward has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his last 12 playoff games.

- Brian Boyle recorded his first point of the playoffs with an assist, posted a plus-one rating, was credited with two blocked shots and tied for the game-high with five hits in 12:12 of ice time. The Rangers forward has registered a point in three of his last five playoff contests (one goal, two assists over the span). Boyle leads the team in hits (15) during the playoffs.

Posted by Andrew Gross on 04/23 at 03:13 PM

“To touch on the post game glow comment… I hate that w a 2 goal lead, this team stops shooting. WTF w that?”

(Above, Mike’s comments from last post)

I’d rather they kept on pressing and pressing. I mean, with a 3 goal lead an less than half a period to play, collapsing into a defensive shell is at least slighty more appropriate than when they’d do it with a 1 goal lead halfway through the 2nd during the Torts era.
Though item #6 above is interesting, and it kinda went through my mind last night as well. If they’re throwing Mason in there for what is the equivalent of live batting practice, it’s not the stupidest idea in the world to not give him the chance to shake off the rust. It wasn’t garbage time in the sense that we were dominating and scoring at will. So there was a good chance that if we put together some shifts with some good offensive pressure, we’d be doing nothing but giving Steve Mason some live-game practice and an opportunity to get a ton of confidence.
I’m not saying they should’ve purposely not shot (and the few shots they did take were long-distance wristers, if I remember correctly), but a concentration on defense might have served a dual purpose here.

Then again, there’s something to be said for playing hard and bringing it for a full game. So who knows.

Posted by DaveB on 04/23 at 05:07 PM

Great comments overall in game and post game.

Two things I’d add about the ridiculous reffing last night

1. Glad we overcame the garbage they were handing down

2. How did voracek right in front of two refs not get an extra roughing minor for clearly instigating the whole hagelin thing? Not only should we have had a PP from that (even cnbc announcers/engblom thoight the Carcillo push on giroux was bogus call) but for them to not even be wrong having it result in even strength. It was doubly egregious that it resulted in a flyers PP

Ps side notes:
Read should definetly get a game for picking the head. Is a suspension all year long for multiple seasons now

Claude Giroux needs to be taught a lesson in garbage time. Obviously the refs miss his two handed assaults/slashes after the play (first against mcd prior game, then against brassard this game 3…where’s the replay and commentary on that nbc???). How do none of our guys repay him the favor with a firm chop like Adam graves on Mario lemiuex.

Giroux is a pussy coward cause he doesn’t ever fight an legitimate tough player and he runs around with his stick like that. He should be getting bad national press and a few penalties. Why are the refs picking this up on prep tapes and watching for his shenanigans after the whistle/behind the play???
He is right up there with Marchand in my book of hated players right now.

Posted by Craig on 04/23 at 05:59 PM

I understand the Mason comment or strategy. However, with 3 days off I think the whole thing is a bit of a stretch. The Rangers have had some good starts in these three games…well, they better come out smoking on Friday. Giroux has almost promised a win on Friday. Play a solid first, frustrate them and the game will turn into a special teams game. If St. Louis is on his game…lights out in Philly.

Posted by rangerbill94 on 04/23 at 06:07 PM

I hear ya DaveB, and in no way am i suggesting Torts strategy. I was referring to, too many passes (even on PP) w the lead. Just take the shot! Bury them! It seems they get crafty w the lead. This still is a good team. 2 goals arent comfortable enough, IMO… Ala Sundays game. I guess in short, keep foot on the pedal!

Posted by Mike on 04/23 at 06:13 PM

Agree mike

Especially cause you want to keep ur PP running smoothly with good habits and deter them from wanting to push the envelope and toe the line for fear of going short handed

Posted by Craig on 04/23 at 06:56 PM

Oh definitely Mike, sorry if I came across as implying that you were. I was just thinking outloud.

Posted by DaveB on 04/23 at 07:10 PM

point 6: Micheletti and “interesting comment do not ever belong in the same sentence. This guy adds nothing to the broadcast. It is hard to believe he actually played the game and harder to believe he still has his current job.
Of course, my review of the record leads me to believe that 99.9999% of all timeouts called are smart.

Dave Maloney should be in his place.

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About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.